WhatsApp has announced it will no longer allow the Samsung Galaxy S2 and 46 other devices to access its app. The Meta-owned service gave the update via its help centre, stating that affected devices “might not have the latest security updates, or might lack the functionality required to run WhatsApp.”
In case you’re not aware, WhatsApp chooses specific devices to stop supporting, every year. This is a regular practise by other technology platforms. They look at which devices are the oldest and have the fewest number of people still using them, stop supporting their operating systems.
If your Android or iPhone is among the following listed you’ll be notified directly by WhatsApp “ahead of time and reminded a few times to upgrade.”
For recommended devices, WhatsApp specifically mentioned the following Android devices with operating system version 4.1 and newer, iPhone with operating system version 12 and newer, KaiOS 2.5.0 and newer, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2. Devices which would stop using WhatsApp from December 31st 2022 are therefore as follows;
For Samsung Users
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2
Samsung Galaxy Core
Samsung Galaxy S2
Samsung Galaxy S3 mini
Samsung Galaxy Trend II
Samsung Galaxy Trend Lite
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
For iPhone Users
iPhone 5
iPhone 5c
For Sony Users
Sony Xperia Arc S
Sony Xperia miro
Sony Xperia Neo L
For LG Users
LG Enact
LG Lucid 2
LG Optimus 4X HD,
LG Optimus F3, F3Q, F5, F6, F7,
LG Optimus L2 II, L3 II, L3 II Dual, L4 II, L4 II Dual, L5, L5 Dual, L5 II, L7, L7 II, L7 II Dual,
LG Optimus Nitro HD
For Huawei Users
Huawei Ascend D, D1, D2
Huawei Ascend G740
Huawei Ascend Mate
Huawei Ascend P1
Others
Wiko Cink Five
Wiko Darknight ZT
Quad XL
Lenovo A820
Archos 53 Platinum
Grand S Flex ZTE
Grand X Quad V987 ZTE
Memo ZTE V956
The year 2022 is drawing to a close. There were a lot of new smartphones released this year, each with their own set of features and improvements.
As we prepare to start fresh in the year 2023, it may be time for some smartphone users to retire their trusty old smartphone in favour of something more modern. As WhatsApp noted, “To keep up with the latest advances in technology, we routinely stop supporting older operating systems to point our resources to supporting the latest ones.”
